THE EDGE
t’s no secret that data is
an organisation’s most
important asset and the way
that it is stored, managed
and processed can play a critical role in
the success of a business. This is being
reflected in the growing trend to move
away from on-premises server rooms,
to cost-effective, scalable data centres
off-site. And, with over 250 data centre
providers in the UK alone, businesses
are spoiled for choice when it comes to
selecting the most suitable provider.
I
With so many different and diverse data
centres and hosting providers out there,
here are six considerations businesses
need to be looking out for when choosing
the right data hosting provider.
1. Why it’s better to keep it local
The main focus of a dependable data
centre should always be uptime, as
this is the most crucial element of
being a successful data host. Choosing
a data hosting provider that aims for
100% availability – and gets as close
to this as possible – should therefore
be a top priority. It is also important
to recognise that location plays a key
role in this; networking costs will be
cheaper if your data centre is closer
to you, so choose a provider that has
a good, local data centre with strong
connectivity for your area. Additionally,
while many data centres now offer
remote hands services, it is also much
easier to get to the physical data centre
if it is local, for example if installation is
required or in the event of a fault.
2. Compliance matters now more
than ever
Linked to location is the importance
of compliance. The General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR) has
made a serious impact on almost
every business in the UK since it was
introduced in May last year, as data from
www.intelligentdatacentres.com
customers throughout the EU is now
being regulated much more stringently.
Data hosting providers are no exception
to this and have a responsibility to
ensure that the data they host is kept
safe and secure at all times. However,
ensuring that systems are GDPR
compliant – and continue to be so – is
not a small task and so, when choosing
a provider, businesses should enquire
into the provider’s compliance expertise
and only select one that has sufficient
measures in place to meet GDPR.
3. High availability is mandatory
High availability is one of the most
important aspects of a good data
centre. Being able to provide a
full time, 24/7 service is crucial
for enabling the businesses that
work with the provider to function
optimally. Not only is reliable power
needed, but also having redundant
components installed to ensure that
the centre can operate continuously
will ensure that downtime is kept to a
minimum. A data hosting provider that
has high specification and resiliency in
cooling, power and connectivity gives
businesses confidence that their data
is in good hands.
Rik Williams, Data Centre Operations
Manager at Node4
THE MAIN
FOCUS OF A
DEPENDABLE
DATA CENTRE
SHOULD ALWAYS
BE UPTIME, AS
THIS IS THE
MOST CRUCIAL
ELEMENT
OF BEING A
SUCCESSFUL
DATA HOST.
4. Keep security top of mind
Another main priority not just for data
centres, but also for every aspect
of IT, should be security. In today’s
technological society, data centres
should have dedicated facilities teams
that are able to offer 24/7 monitoring
and support, to be on hand for any
issues that may occur. Even the best
and most secure data centres need to
be prepared in case of an emergency,
so it’s important to work with a team
that has alternative solutions in place,
such as secure backup storage, to
ensure that all of the data they store is
safe no matter what.
5. Cost has got to be considered
With budgets under ever-increasing
scrutiny, and businesses having to rein
in their expenses wherever possible,
many will not be able to spend
excessive amounts of money on their
data centre choice. However, hosting
their own data on-site can often prove
to be more costly than moving this
to an off-site location, and therefore
Issue 03
69